Day 464: Image of the Fendahl Part 3

It was odd to re-watch this episode. It's one that I've seen three or four times before, so I was already familiar with much of how the story would play out. This story was, in my opinion, an above average Doctor Who story with some nice horror elements, and would probably scare thousands of children, but wouldn't do much to me, having come to it first when I was a teenager and am currently re-watching it as a young adult. And yet, the ending to this episode left me feeling a bit, for want of a better word, scared.

It wasn't the occult sacrifice nor the killing of Dr Fendelman that made me feel a bit uneasy, it was instead the reveal of the monster. Again, a lot of this is due to the way in which the cliffhanger was composed. For instance, the camera at the end chooses to hang on the monster for as long as possible, making the audience feel slightly uncomfortable as you see this horrific beast lurch towards you. Similiarly, the writing includes the small fact that the characters's legs cannot move from the monster, a slightly unnerving idea that festers in the back of the mind. But these things, whilst unsettling in their own right, weren't the thing that really scared me. For that, we have to go to the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and look at the sound produced for the episode. As we see the rear of the monster approach, we hear a horrific squelching sound in crystal clarity, as if it's right in front of you and coming towards you. It unnerved me enough that I was left somewhat frightened by the cliffhanger, and the experience leaves me with a new found appreciation for this story, and as we approach the conclusion, I hope that it will continue to deliver at the high quality that it has done previously.